News & Perspectives on Beer and its Culture

BENGALI IPA

As another week comes to a close, the latest Tasting Notes segment has us slipping into the weekend with a little SWEET ACTION from Sixpoint Brewery (Brooklyn, New York).

Staying true to their evolutionary, mad science approach to craft brewing, Sixpoint Brewery recently announced that they have reformulated their entire line of Core beers to create “the rawest, juiciest, and most modern iterations” to date. The affected beers and their updates are as follows:

BENGALI IPA – “With BENGALI, we tweaked the hop character, and incorporated some new hop strains we’ve just recently acquired, to seriously dial in that citrusy-tropical aroma. Then we smoothed out the texture with oats, and dried out the malt body to let the hops take full control. This thing is all about huge tropical character up front, and a clean, dry finish.”

THE CRISP Pilz – “We went to Germany for this one. When it comes to German hops, American breweries are often left with the scraps (we call that the “hop sausage.”) So we go straight to the source to get the prime cuts. For the first time, the Tettnanger and Hallertau hops in THE CRISP are sourced 100% directly from farmers in Tettnang, Germany — now that bright, floral aroma on this dialed in Pilz comes absolutely flying out of the glass.”

RESIN IIPA – “This dank dive into the hop cone just got more potent — unfiltered RESIN is insane. The hop aroma coming off this thing is almost scary.”

SWEET ACTION Blonde – “You can think of SWEET ACTION Blonde as a cleaner take on SWEET ACTION, with a massive focus on the juice. The addition of Huell Melon hops, a new and super legit strain, plus the unfiltered nature of the beer give you an amazing hop aroma that you’ll still recognize as distinctly SWEET ACTION. It’s got aspects of a blonde ale, a wheat beer, and a juicy pale ale.”

To keep the packaging as fresh as the updated beers within, Sixpoint has added “both Canned On and Best By dates” to their cans. Additionally, the 6-pack holders now include a “Freshness Window” – a clear opening on the bottom of the package – so that you can easily check these dates at the time of purchase.

The reformulated Core beers are available now in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft. You can find these updated brews at craft beer establishments located in Alabama, Florida, New York and throughout the rest of Sixpoint Brewery’s distribution area.

The update information seems to indicate that SWEET ACTION has undergone the biggest overhaul of the four beers, so let’s crack open a can and take some Tasting Notes on this reinvented brew!

Tasting Notes for SWEET ACTION Blonde from Sixpoint Brewery

Appearance: After a careful pour, SWEET ACTION presents itself as burnt orange in color with a little over a finger of slightly off white foam sitting on top. Held to direct light, the colors brighten to expose deep golden yellows that surround an orange core that remains at the beer’s center. The beer is moderately hazy, but it still allows the drinker to observe the streaming carbonation presence within. The head has fantastic retention, falling marginally to just under a finger of creamy foam. This ever-lasting head leaves behind considerable chunks of lace all over the glass.

Aroma: The hops are definitely running this department. Fresh and fruity hop notes of melon, tangerine and a touch of berry confidently lead the way for a more reserved malt sweetness. The aroma is all business. Attention grabbing, straight-forward and direct, its mission is to cut through all the BS to take you deeper into the SWEET ACTION experience.

Taste: This is probably one of the cleanest representations of Huell Melon hop character that we have ever experienced. This hop is clearly the star attraction here, and its melon notes are incredibly blatant and lovely. A bit of orange zest comes through, but that melon just dominates the hop flavor profile. Reserved but not anywhere near forgotten, the malts do surface toward the finish with a doughy, bread-like character to add some balancing sweetness to the equation.

Mouthfeel: This brew is on the light side of medium in body with a crisp carbonation level to it. The beer teases both the bitter and sweet areas of the palate. The flavors do lightly linger a bit before clearing out, but this is more than welcomed considering that melon note just further adds to the beer’s overall refreshing and easy-drinking nature. The 5% ABV is hinted at from time to time, but it is absolutely no cause for concern. The aftertaste is just a touch of citrus zest.

Final Thoughts: Just as Sixpoint Brewery says in the updated description for SWEET ACTION, this brew seriously does show characteristics of three different styles. To start, the appearance leads you to believe that you are looking at an American Wheat Beer. An American Pale Ale then boldly surfaces in the aromatic and flavor profiles with a forward hop character that is wonderfully balanced by the malts. Finally, the mouthfeel goes all American Blonde Ale on you to supply an overall experience that is refreshing and approachable. With all of this considered, it is easy to declare that the reformulated SWEET ACTION has all the moves necessary to capture and keep your attention for quite a while. This beer is a hit and you really need to check it – and the rest of Sixpoint’s reinvented Core lineup – out as soon as possible. Prost!